Sanji Gotō
| full name =Sanjirō Gotō | kanji = 五藤 惨事郎 | romaji =''Gotō Sanjirō'' | alias =Sanji Child of Calamity (惨事の子供, sanji no kodomo) | first appearance = | birthdate = August 9 | gender = Male | age = 19 | height = 186 cm (6'1") | weight = 86 kg (190 lbs) | bloodtype = O+ | KG = | KT = | classification = | affiliation = , | team = (previously) | partner = | clan = Gotō Clan | family = (grandmother, deceased) Fujika Gotō (mother) San (father, deceased) | rank = | registration = IW-10699 | academy age = 9 | chunin age = 10 | occupation = | nature type = | jutsu = | tools = | other = Specialist }} Sanjirō Gotō, known better as simply Sanji (サンジ, Sanji), is a from and the grandson of the . Born into the prestigious Gotō Clan, Sanji possessed significant talent from a young age and was a natural-born prodigy of the . Formerly a member of the , Sanji's unique combination of his and led to a destructive reputation, and during his time as a he gained the title of "Child of Calamity" (惨事の子供, sanji no kodomo, lit. "disaster child"). However, after accidentally maiming his best friend in the , Sanji became much more serious and dedicated as a shinobi. He devoted himself to protecting his friends and swore that he would learn to control his power so that he never harmed anyone unintentionally ever again. Following this principle, he spent two years training in the mountains north of Iwa, where he was instructed by in the Stone Tortoise style of . After Kurotsuchi’s death, Sanji became the Fifth (五代目土影, Godaime Tsuchikage, lit. "fifth earth shadow") at the age of fifteen, making him the youngest to lead Iwagakure in history. Background Sanji was born into the prestigious Gotō Clan, whose members had served either as the hereditary of the or as important members of the Daimyō's political cabinet for generations. His mother, Fujika, was serving as the land's daimyō when she fell in love with San, the son of and a prominent within who had been assigned as one of her bodyguards. The young couple's affair was considered scandalous due to its political implications, and they were eventually separated. Nonetheless, they continued to see each other in secret, successfully keeping their relationship hidden until Fujika became pregnant. Pressured by her administration, she resigned from her position as daimyō and moved to one of the Gotō's secluded familial estates, where Sanji was born. Raised in relative isolation, Sanji was spoiled as a child as he was doted upon by both Fujika and San, who would occasionally come to visit. Even though he rarely saw San, as the latter was incessantly assigned on missions by Kurotsuchi in order to keep him away from Fujika, Sanji adored his father and diligently practiced the the jōnin had shown him. Soon, Sanji proved himself to be a natural prodigy in the use of the , which alarmed his parents. In order to cultivate and control his destructive potential, they sent him to Hayata, a retired member of Iwa's , so that Sanji could be properly trained in the use of his special abilities. Having never left the Gotō estate before, Sanji soon became homesick and lonely until he was befriended by Genzō, Hayata's grandson. Sanji and Genzō soon became close friends, to the point where Sanji considered Genzō his brother. Even though Hayata had been tasked with training Sanji as a shinobi, he wanted both the boys to have as normal of a childhood as possible. Eventually, they both enrolled at the , where Sanji quickly surpassed Genzō in terms of abilities. Despite this, Genzō remained a good-natured and inherently humble individual, unconcerned that Sanji was stronger than he was. In fact, he remained the level-headed anchor of the two, often being the one to calm Sanji down after the latter would recklessly jump into fights at school. The two also became sparring partners and trained outside of the academy in order to better hone their newly learned skills. During this time, Sanji never saw San and was only occasionally visited by his mother in disguise, as the Gotō wanted to keep Sanji's identity a secret to protect him from being targeted by enemies of the noble clan. While he had come to see Hayata and Genzō as his family, Sanji was still hurt by this as he assumed his parents had largely abandoned him. Unable to fully comprehend his situation and what was expected of him, Sanji buried his emotions and became bitter. Constantly angry, he would frequently lash out at the world for no apparent reason. And as his powers continued to grow stronger, these violent outbursts became increasingly dangerous. Both Sanji and Genzō graduated early from the academy, although it is likely that neither of the boys were fully prepared to become genin. Eager to enter the that upcoming year, Iwagakure had hastily rushed the academy students who showed potential through the school's system in order to assemble them into teams. Unfortunately, Sanji and Genzō were placed into two opposing teams. Nonetheless, they agreed to help each other by sharing information and other means of support if possible. While this worked during the exam's initial stages, the situation quickly took a turn for the worse when Genzō discovered one of the members of his team was a mercenary who had been planted by one of the Gotō's rival clans in order to assassinate Sanji during the exams. Genzō tried to stop the shinobi, but to no avail as the mercenary quickly incapacitated him and the other genin before leaving to kill Sanji. The assassin quickly picked off Sanji's team and attacked the young genin, convincing him that Genzō had been forced by his jōnin sensei to betray him. While Sanji did not believe the shinobi, he assumed that Genzō had been hurt and attacked in a rage. Genzō managed to reach them in time and tried to convince Sanji to stop fighting the shinobi, as the mercenary had prepared a special means to kill Sanji using his own power against him. However, Sanji remained heedless of his friend's warnings, and Genzō was eventually forced to intervene, leaping on top of Sanji to halt the explosion that would have sealed his fate. While Genzō survived the explosion, he was severely maimed and had lost his ability to properly form chakra due to the in his arms being destroyed. In other words, he would never again be a shinobi. While they had escaped from the exams alive, Sanji blamed himself for what had happened and soon became plagued with guilt. To make matters worse, Hayata disowned Sanji and refused to train him further, stating that things would have turned out differently had Sanji had more control over both his abilities and his anger. Sanji returned to the Gotō estate in shame. Fearing that he would inadvertently harm someone else besides Genzō, he resigned from all chūnin missions and refused to use his abilities. However, after all he had seen he would find himself discontent and sickened by the luxury of the noble clan's lifestyle. At the age of twelve, Sanji left Iwagakure in order to travel the world and train. Personality Despite Sanji’s power and status as Kage, he is a rather immature individual. Naïve and at times overly-idealistic, Sanji believes in confronting problems head-on and in seeing the best in anyone. Firmly believing that a person’s willpower determines their level of strength, he respects determined individuals and holds to a personal code of honor in battle, refusing to stoop to means involving deceit or manipulation. This often leaves him gullible and subject to crippling weakness in combat, as his goodwill is frequently exploited by his enemies. Nonetheless, there are certain lines that Sanji will not allow himself or others to cross. Should an opponent seek to harm the innocent, particularly residents of Sanji’s own hidden village, he will stop at nothing until he has annihilated them. This side of him can become dangerously destructive, as he becomes blind to any other objective in his purpose of stopping those who have harmed the ones he cares about. Sanji possesses a strong moral code and a large heart, and this coupled with his young age and prodigious talent has caused the people of Iwa to become enamored with him. Despite this, Sanji remains humble, believing in the inherent value of all people and modestly deferring to the concerns of others. He denies compliments and brushes aside his own abilities, stating that he is nothing exceptional. Knowing that he is not a strategist, he is easy to listen to advice, although he will obstinately refuse to implement any measure if he believes it could harm the people of Iwa. This has often led him into conflict with the village’s advisors, who often seek more “covert” means of administration, which Sanji is firmly against. Seen as oblivious and ignorant, he is also not trusted by his advisors, especially considering his father’s status as a missing-nin. Still, Sanji believes it is his duty to protect his hidden village, and recognizes that his power has placed him in a unique position to do so. While he cares deeply for the well-being of his people, he has a tendency to do things on his own, as he fears unintentionally harming anyone after the events of his past involving Genzō. Incapable of seeing moral ambiguities, Sanji lives by a hard-line “black and white” standard. While he is not quick to judge, he has a difficult time accepting those who use less-than-honorable measures to achieve their ends. As such, Sanji has found it a personal struggle for him to collaborate with and accept the help of the other Kage. Nevertheless, he is not unaware of his weaknesses as a leader, and he has begun to learn how to force himself to set aside his own personal values in order to achieve the greater good, even though he describes such contradiction as sickening. He remains intensely loyal to the Shinobi Union, convinced that the organization will eventually bring about the greater good. However, it is unknown how he would react if he were to discover their more underhanded means of operation. He remains deeply hurt by his father’s betrayal of Iwa. While he continues to search for San, he does not seek retribution, instead hoping to seek answers for why his father committed such an atrocity. It is likely that, should he discover his father's true reasoning, Sanji’s entire moral perspective would begin to crack. On a lighter side, Sanji is inexperienced in the world of women. Having had little time to consider such things as romance, he becomes easily embarrassed when interacting with females outside of a strictly business context, especially those who are “amply endowed.” Should there be any hint of sexual undertones in such situations, he quickly becomes flustered and is unable to speak coherently. Fortunately, since he sees battle as “business,” he is able to compartmentalize this quirk in order to function in serious circumstances. He has also tried to cultivate a sense of humor, and will occasionally try to brighten a given context with dry jokes and stale puns. However, considering his frank, literal nature, these attempts remain largely unsuccessful, to the perpetual chagrin of his associates. Appearance Sanji is a tall, broad-shouldered young man. He has a wide, angular face with a strong, flat nose, thinly arched eyebrows, and square-set eyes. While his rather plain features might not cause members of the opposite sex to drool over him, he has an honest, rugged sort of handsomeness with a healthy complexion. Sanji’s eyes are brown, with notably pointed upper-lashes, and they occasionally glow with an amber hue under certain light. His hair is dark brown, and he typically keeps it short and swept up from his face. However, the most notable aspect of Sanji’s appearance is his impressive build. With a well-defined musculature, Sanji’s chiseled arms, thick chest and sculpted torso evidence his physical strength. He is somewhat proud of his muscles, and shows them off by wearing plated chest armor that is cut off above the stomach and a sleeveless, hooded yellow jacket. However, his attire also bears a practical function, as the gaps allow for greater mobility for his taijutsu. Aside from this, Sanji’s garb includes fastened with a thick red cord, loose yellow trousers with a geometric design around the knees, and soft, black fabric martial arts boots. He wears a single sleeve over his left arm, and lines his weighted, gold-colored gauntlets with regular black gloves. When in civilian clothing, Sanji is usually seen in a comfortable pair of sweat pants, a sleeveless tank top, and flip-flops. Equipment : Abilities As the Fifth Tsuchikage, Sanji possesses formidable strength and is considered to be the most powerful shinobi in Iwagakure. As a descendent of both the Tsuchikage and Gotō bloodlines, he was born with the innate capability to mix several elemental chakra natures in order to form a unique . This volatile combination allows him to overwhelm his enemies in hand-to-hand combat, as they are forced to evade his strikes in order to avoid being completely blown to bits upon contact. While his masterful combination of and is legendary throughout the Hidden Villages, Sanji also possesses considerable physical strength and an indomitable force of will, which are often factors underestimated by his opponents. After becoming a chūnin, Sanji’s powers were further augmented by his training in , and he is now able to meld natural energy with his own chakra in a balance achieved in . Chakra and Physical Prowess Since Sanji is a member of the Gotō clan (of whom was a member), it was originally expected that he would have been born as a . However, for unknown reasons, this proved not to be the case, and Sanji remains largely insensitive to the of those around him. Nonetheless, due to his lineage as a descendent of the , Sanji possesses a considerable amount of chakra. While his control over his own levels of energy is not refined, he is able to use his chakra effectively and explosively in combat. His relatively large chakra reservoirs enable him to fight for extended periods of time and to use chakra-taxing techniques, sometimes repeatedly, in the heat of battle. In fact, when fully released, his chakra is powerful enough to manifest in visible form, where it takes on the appearance of vibrant, bright-orange flames that shroud his figure. While he does not utilize his chakra to fight directly, he is capable of momentarily suppressing the ambient release of energy in order to give him powerful bursts of speed or to add impetus to an attack. This is a technique that is often ascribed to as opposed to shinobi, although in Sanji’s case it is employed with far less precision. As such, it is dangerous for him to use for an extended period of time, as suppressing his own expansive chakra can result in severe internal consequences. But the trade-off allows him to surpass the typical limits of a shinobi in taijutsu, and he is able of creating massive craters even without use of his as well as crush boulders with one strike, leap to great heights, accelerate his speed, and withstand incredible damage in battle. His durability is one of his greatest physical aspects, as he is able to emerge relatively unscathed even after absorbing a direct attack, and he has an incredibly high degree of pain tolerance. Sanji relies on this resilience in order to protect his comrades, often deliberately placing himself in harm’s way in order to protect them, which coincides with the seriousness with which he views his role as Kage. Nintaijutsu Sanji has always possessed an innate ability to use the Explosion Release kekkei gekai. Beginning with the training he received from his father San, he also learned how to fight using , which was initially his preferred method of fighting. Hayata is the first who showed Sanji how to combine the two separate skill sets into a unified system of fighting, following the principles used by the . Sanji mainly uses various different applications of the in order to send explosive shockwaves through a target upon physical touch. As the technique imbues the contacted target with explosive chakra, it is powerful enough to obliterate large-scale structures upon contact. Sanji is also able to delay this detonation, meaning he can hit a target several times in order to deal even greater damage. As far as it applies to nintaijutsu, however, Sanji mainly uses his Explosion Release by imbuing the explosive chakra within his own body in order to give him extremely high degrees of strength and speed. He can also manipulate the individual parts of his kekkei gekai when they are infused within his body in order to achieve certain effects, such as neutralizing lightning with an Earth Release skin or using his Explosion Release to blaze across the battlefield at extreme speeds. He is also capable of using in order to repel objects and add greater force to his strikes. The style of taijutsu he utilizes relies heavily on upper-body techniques and deep-set fist work, as Sanji uses both his weighted gloves and his explosive capabilities to deliver tremendous force to a given target. Nature Transformations Earth Release: Explosion Release: Sanji has an unusual style of Senjutsu Sage Mode Summoning Technique Willpower Sanji is not known for his intelligence or cunning in combat. While he has a high degree of emotional intelligence, which allows him to relate to the shinobi of Iwa, he is not adept at strategizing or forming complicated plans of action. He tends to gravitate towards what is obvious, and takes facts at face-value. As such, he remains rather gullible or naive, especially for a Kage, which would pose a significant weakness were it not for his unnaturally strong force of will. Also known as the Will of Stone, which was possessed by , Ōnoki, and other fabled members of the Tsuchikage clan, this was the kind of determination that allowed such shinobi to become so powerful in the first place. Sanji’s unmovable willpower allows him to remain loyal to a person or cause regardless of attempts to impose external effects upon his resoluteness. This has the additional consequence of granting him incredible physical endurance, and his determination can drive him to ignore severe physical pain and continue fighting even beyond his physical limits. In addition, he is immune to nearly all forms of , telepathy, mind control, temptation, interrogation, or other forms of mind manipulation. This willpower, which remains unadulterated by schemes or machinations, allows him to see through a course of action regardless of how impossible the odds may seem. To a certain extent, he is also able to sense the willpower of others, and can perceive what level of determination an opponent possesses and whether or not he is capable of overcoming it. Thus, while he may not be known for his mental acuity combat, he is keenly aware of his opponent's resolve and knows when he is fighting an uphill battle. However, once he has set his mind on pursuing a certain path, he becomes an unstoppable force, tearing through any obstacle—human or otherwise—until he reaches his objective. Plot Trivia *Sanji’s main quote, which appears at the top of the article, was based on a similar quote made by . *Sanji’s name in kanji (惨事郎, Sanjirō) means "son of disaster." *His theme song, as stated by the author, is Centuries by . Quotes *(Sanji's attempt at humor) "Well, I guess you could say I was between a rock and a hard place." Category:Shinobi Category:Iwagakure Category:Kage Category:Nintaijutsu Specialist